Will The Quartz Crisis Resurface In The Form Of The Smartwatch

Global smartwatch sales have skyrocketed in recent years. So much, it has overtaken Swiss watch sales figures. Could this be the latest threat to the Swiss watch industry? Could we see another crisis lurking around 40/50 years post the quartz crisis?

Mickey on a suit? It seems the possibilities of smartwatches are endless.

The Quartz Crisis Or Rather Revolution

The watch industry was severely shaken back in the 70’s and 80’s. It started in 1969 when Japanese watch manufacturer Seiko introduced the world’s first ever quartz watch, the Seiko Astron. Following Seiko’s release, there was a mass migration by watch manufacturers worldwide towards this particular technology. Shortly after, in 1972, the Hamilton Watch Co. introduced the Pulsar P1, the world’s first ever digital quartz watch.

Prior to quartz movements, watches primarily contained mechanical movements of which the Swiss were industry leaders. After a few years of Asian quartz watchmaking dominance, traditional Swiss watchmaking started to take a severe hit. In just over a decade the number of Swiss watchmakers fell from 1600 to 600 because of quartz watches. Despite revered brands such as Patek Philippe and Omega embracing the technology, there was still some resistance within the community. A watch community who believed solely in traditional watchmaking and the quartz watch being just a fad. The crisis however persisted and hence triggered the birth of SWATCH in an attempt to save the Swiss watch industry.

Blancpain, the oldest watch brand in the world (1735), remains one of the few brands to have stayed true to its tradition of watchmaking. Pictured here is a Blancpain Villeret Quantième Complet GMT

The ‘Modern’ Smartwatch

Fast forward to some 40 to 50 years later and a new type of watch is growing in popularity. The ‘Modern’ Smartwatch. I say ‘Modern’ because truly speaking, the smartwatch was born during the quartz crisis. The smartwatch would owe its origins to the Pulsar P1 pictured above, which is itself branded as “The Time Computer”. Some other vintage ‘smartwatches’ such as the HP-01 and the Seiko LCD TV watch pictured below are also some form of early smartwatches.

The digital watches of 1970’s and 1980’s laid the foundation for current smartwatches we are now accustomed to. Feature packed wrist devices that can do just about anything. Features such as attending to your calls and messaging needs, and monitoring your health and fitness.

Apple, before being a great tech company, is an even better marketing company. They leverage all their products to work in harmony with other devices within their own ecosystem. A strategy that has proven to increase brand loyalty which also partly justifies their success in the watch industry.

2016 – 2017 Apple Watch shipment vs Swiss Watches shipments

Adding the shipment figures of Apple watches to smartwatches from other brands, it is clear that the current smartwatch market has taken the whole Swiss watch industry by storm. Similar to the effects of the quartz watch which triggered the quartz crisis in Switzerland.

Impact On Traditional Watchmaking

Surprisingly, according to a 2017 Deloitte Swiss Watch Industry Study, 72% of Swiss watch industry executives do not perceive Smartwatches as a threat. In fact, 14% see smartwatches more as an opportunity. Despite decreasing volumes, the industry has experienced growth compared to previous quarters and 52% of executives have a positive outlook on the industry for the next 12 months.

This resistance on the impact of smartwatch sales by Swiss watch executives somewhat reminds us of the quartz crisis. Much of the Swiss watch industry initially tried to resist the quartz watch in the 70’s and 80’s but accepted its dominance over a decade later.

Some Swiss manufacturers have already joined the smartwatch hype. TAG Heuer introduced their Connected watch collection in partnership with Intel and Google back in November 2015. Others such as Frédérique Constant have adopted a more horological approach to enter the market.

Combining traditional watchmaking and modern day smartwatch functionality – An innovation pioneered by Frédérique Constant

The Future Of Watchmaking

Are we currently experiencing the wrath of technology destroying the art of watchmaking? Should Switzerland be cautious of the rise of smartwatches? No matter what the industry is going to look like in the coming decades, one thing is for sure. Watches are still made traditionally using mechanical movements. Quartz movements are used in some luxury watches but are mostly found in affordable mass market watches. Now though, there is a new and strong contender in the wristwatch arena. The smartwatch.

Pranav started conceiving ISL AVENUE in late 2012. He has travelled the world from a very early age and hence developped an affinity for travel, hotels and food at different levels and from different cultures. He admires architecture and design but is deeply passionate about horology and cars. He carries a business background and is an aircraft pilot.